At least 2,400 doctors in the US have sexually abused their patients with half of them managing to keep their license, a new survey has found.

The year-long investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was published on Wednesday and found that in total more than 3,100 doctors have been sanctioned after being accused of molestation since 1999.

Children, abuse survivors, and women assaulted while under anesthesia were among the victims, the report noted. Mentally and physically disabled patients have also fallen victim to the hideous crime.

According to the daily, this is only a fraction of the cases across all 50 US states and it is impossible to determine the real scale of the issue as many hospital and state regulators keep the issue a secret.

Another big issue, the report noted, was that the American Medical Association, who represents the doctors, remains silent on such cases to make sure that it does not attract public attention.

The newspaper said while the nation’s 900,000 doctors are mostly observant of their oath, the frequency of the phenomenon is still far beyond what anyone has been willing to acknowledge.

“It would be one thing if it was only one incident, but to find out how prevalent it is, is frightening and angering,” one of the victims told the daily.

The more shocking discovery of the report was that the crime is being highly tolerated by most state officials and many doctors receive a second chance from the physician-dominated medical boards.

For instance, in Georgia, nearly two-thirds of the doctors who were publicly disciplined after allegations of sexual misconduct were allowed to practice again.

This was also the case in Kansas, while in Alabama it was nearly three out of every four; and four out of five in Minnesota.

Larry Dixon, the longtime executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, said the amount of resources that were spent on a doctor’s education justifies a second chance.

Vann Craig, the former executive director of the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, also echoed that excuse, saying, “it takes a lot of money to educate a physician.”

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